by Barbara | Food + Recipes
We’re now formally in the “handing-someone-a-bottle-of wine” season, and while most of us can simply stick a bow on it and pass it on, there are times when that bottle needs a little more oomph than a plain brown paper bag or a crinkled sheet of...
by Barbara | Beauty + Cosmetics
Angry winter weather is coming – yes, even on the left coast, where a cold, dry wind comes off the ocean and ages my skin (and forces me to eat leftover pumpkin pies for breakfast. A la mode). This winter, though, I am more prepared – I have Chapstuff....
by Barbara | Food + Recipes
That growing anxiety I feel is because Thanksgiving is right around the corner, like a really long race I have to run and if I down, I’ll never catch up again. Luckily, there are some food-tastic sites and bloggers who are a great help to you in your final hours...
by Barbara | Toys + Playthings
Whenever I go shopping for baby toys, I am dismayed at how many toy developers design their blocks in sherbet-y pastels even though babies prefer the colors high contrast and vivid for the first few months. (I am also wondering who decided babies love...
by Barbara | Helpful Services
I really enjoy cooking for my family. What I don’t enjoy are the non-cooking parts of cooking – deciding what everyone is going to eat, and all that chopping, mincing prep work.Well we just found a really revolutionary service that take those two items off...
by Barbara | Books for Kids
I have all sorts of tricks for when I worry too much, because I do worry — too much and too often. Worrying happens to be a family trait. Unfortunately, that means I have a pint-sized worrier in my own house, and he can’t...
by Barbara | Books for Kids
I am crazy about multitasking, and that includes at kid bedtime; when we read a book together, my child and I reconnect, plus I get to lie down, plus I get to work a little Mom Psychology 101. All that is made a little more golden when we have...
by Barbara | Books for Kids
Though I was long ago (like, on day one) over the nightly battle that was part of our bedtime routine, I never, ever tired of the snuggly part, where we wrapped up and read as much as possible before admitting it was time for lights out. And I’m never tired,...